


Apprentice

by OccasionalStorytelling



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teen Titans (Animated Series) Setting, Apprentice robin, Dick Grayson is Not Robin, Dick Grayson is Slade's apprentice, Hurt Dick Grayson, Teen Titans without Robin au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29911950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccasionalStorytelling/pseuds/OccasionalStorytelling
Summary: While the Teen Titans (Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven) are taking down some of Slade's robots, they bump into a robot that isn't a robot--in fact, it's a kid, about their age, with black spiky hair and a domino mask under the Slade black-and-orange faceplate. It's Slade's apprentice, Dick Grayson, rescued from the circus after his parents' death when Batman wasn't around for him. Dick (or his villain name, Apprentice) has never tangled with heroes before, but he's not going to let Slade down. If only someone had warned him that nobody can stand up to the Teen Titans.Apprentice-Robin gets forcibly adopted by the Teen Titans au
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay, Titans, just like we planned,” Cyborg raised his sonic cannon and pointed it at the door.

Whoever Slade was, he’d sent villain after villain to destroy the Titans, but now he’d changed tactics, and was trying to steal a series of computer chips from tech companies around the city. The Titans had staked out Wayne Tech, ready for Slade’s next robotic army assault. Cyborg and Beast Boy were down on the main storage room floor, ready to fight off the creepy robots with their identical forms and blank masked faces. Starfire and Raven were both in flight, covering all possible other entrances and exits to the room.

They could hear a loud, repeating banging sound as the robots beat on the door. Starfire powered up, eye glowing green. Beast Boy nodded at Cyborg and turned into a T-Rex, ready for whatever was coming through.

“Here it comes!” Cyborg said. “Raven, shield us!”

Raven’s magic washed over them, a black shield against which shrapnel from the door scattered harmlessly. The shield flashed away, revealing an army of Slade’s robots standing in the doorway.

“Titans, go!” Cyborg yelled.

Beast Boy roared and stomped into the fray, tearing robotic limbs to shreds with his T-Rex teeth. Cyborg stood behind him, firing blast after blast of his sonic cannon into the robots. One of the robots was different than the others, he noticed. It was smaller, more agile. Most of the robots were big, lumbering tanks that would keep charging forward until they met their goal or got destroyed. This robot was light, and Cyborg watched it cartwheel one-handed out of the way of one of Beast Boy’s swiping attacks. Cyborg pivoted to face it, but it was fast. It almost danced around him, the way it moved. It leapt into the air, making a grab for the chip, when Cyborg finally caught it in the leg with the sonic cannon. It wasn’t a good enough hit, though. The robot still had both legs, and it kept coming. It reached into a pocket and threw something at Cyborg. The something exploded on contact, clogging up Cyborg’s sensors with smoke and ash. It almost destroyed his power cell in one hit.

“Star!” Cyborg coughed.

“I see it,” Starfire said. She flew over Cyborg’s head and attacked the smaller robot. It turned and ran from her, towards one of the walls. She threw starbolt after starbolt at it as it ran, then it ran _up_ the wall a few steps, did a backflip over her head, and threw another something at her. The explosive force slammed Starfire into the wall as the robot jumped away, heading for the chip again. Cyborg fired another few sonic cannon shots, but it rolled and ducked like none of the other robots could.

Raven swooped down, putting herself between it and the chip. The robot froze for a second, as if sizing her up. “Azarath metrion zinthos!” Raven said, and the floor panels under the robot’s feet began to rise, shoving it away as they formed a protective wall around the chip. The robot pulled out another device, one that looked like a gun. It shot at Raven, and she threw up a shield to protect herself, but the robot hadn’t been aiming for her. It was a grappling hook, and the robot used the line attached to her makeshift wall to swing under it and grab the chip out of the security force field.

“It’s got the chip!” Cyborg yelled. “We can’t let it take it!”

The robot launched itself back towards the crushed lab door and the safety of numbers, but Beast Boy had left the robot army not much more than a pile of parts. He was now an octopus. “Got you!” Beast Boy said, grabbing the little robot with a few of his arms. The robot pressed a button on its belt and Beast Boy yelped and twitched as electricity flooded through him. He dropped the robot and collapsed, shifting back to himself as he did. Raven used her power to raise the rubble into the air, blocking the robot’s escape. The robot turned to face the Titans, the only one of its peers left standing. It pocketed the chip and raised both fists, ready for a fight.

“This one is…smaller than the others?” Starfire frowned.

“That doesn’t mean it’s any less of a threat,” Cyborg scowled. He fired another sonic cannon blast, but the robot had already moved. It had used the grappling hook to connect to a vent close to the ceiling, and was making a run for it. Before any of the Titans could stop it, it was inside the vent and on the move.

“Throw me!” Beast Boy said. Cyborg picked him up and launched him. Beast Boy turned into a mouse mid-flight, and landed inside the vent. “It’s heading for the roof!” Beast Boy yelled back, already on the move following the robot.

“Then let’s go get it,” Raven said. She raised her teleportation raven to encircle the three of them.

“Wait,” Cyborg frowned. “Did any of us get hit?”

“I for one was hit most strongly, but I am fine,” Starfire said.

“Beast Boy’s blood is green, Star’s is orange, Raven’s is black, mine is blue,” Cyborg said, tracing one finger through the sticky red pool on the chip platform. “So whose is this?”

“The robot… It’s not a robot,” Raven said.

“Do you think it is Slade himself?” Starfire asked.

“Cyborg to Beast Boy, it’s not a robot,” Cyborg spoke into the communicator. “We’ve got to try and take him alive. We’ll meet you at the roof.” He nodded at Raven, who cloaked them. They reappeared on the roof. It was night, and the huge WAYNE TECH sign glowed white in the darkness. The vent clattered open as Beast Boy emerged as a badger holding onto one of the not-robot’s legs with his teeth. The not-robot landed a solid kick to Beast Boy’s face and tried to escape, but it was surrounded by the Titans, with weapons hot. The not-robot raised a weird-looking gun of some sort, attached to his wrist, but Starfire swooped down and crunched it into useless dust with one hand. “I believe we have caught you,” she said, keeping her grip on his wrist. The not-robot suddenly tensed and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her head-first into the ground and leaving a crack in the rooftop cement. He ran at Cyborg, fists raised.

“Dude, you do not want to fight me!” Cyborg said. “We know you’re hurt, and your fists won’t—hey!” After a few futile punches from the not-robot, he’d given up and tried his electrical attack on Cyborg, who just barely managed to dodge it. The not-robot didn’t even pause, he just ran for the edge of the roof and threw himself off of it.

“Raven!” Cyborg yelled.

“Got him,” Raven said. Her eyes glowed white as she held up a sphere of energy, trapping the not-robot inside of it. He struggled against it for a few moments, tried out a few gadgets on it, before seeming to give up. He slumped on the floor of the sphere.

“So…what do we do now?” Beast Boy sat up, rubbing a bump on his head.

They took the not-robot back to the Tower, careful not to let him out of the sphere until they were ready. They dumped him in a secure room, but nobody wanted to be in the same place as him. He was tough, and probably strong enough to take any of them down in a one-on-one fight. The not-robot sat in the secure little cell, and the Titans watched him from a connected window.

“Should we…turn him over to the police?” Beast Boy asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cyborg frowned. “We’ve been fighting Slade for so long, I don’t think we can afford to miss out on whatever we can learn from this guy.”

“Who is he?” Starfire asked.

“He’s not Slade, that’s for sure,” Raven grumbled. “Maybe Slade finally decided to find some new friends.”

“He _looks_ like a robot,” Beast Boy shrugged. “With the faceplate and all…are we sure this isn’t just one of Slade’s fancy new toys?”

They looked down into the room, where the not-robot was ripping his shirt sleeve into pieces and tying them around his leg. There was a little red stain on the floor below him.

“Huh,” Beast Boy said. “Well…okay.”

“He is injured. Should we not help him?” Starfire asked.

“We can give it a try,” Cyborg shrugged.

“Not it!” Beast Boy tapped his nose. “I do _not_ need to be alone with _that_ guy. My head’s gonna hurt for a _week._ ” He rubbed the bump where the not-robot had kicked him.

“Starfire, you think you can handle him?” Raven asked.

“Surely,” Starfire said. “Though I may require additional instruction in your Earth medicine.”

Loaded up with a box or two of medical supplies, Starfire opened the door to the room. Without even taking a moment to hesitate, the not-robot stood and leapt at the door, but Starfire held him back with a starbolt. The not-robot faltered, and took an awkward step back onto his hurt leg. The security door closed, the the not-robot slumped sadly.

“For your leg,” Starfire said, as brightly as she could. She held up the boxes of supplies. The not-robot didn’t move, he just seemed to stare at her from behind the faceless mask.

“You are hurt,” Starfire said, pointing at his leg. When he’d tried to escape, he’d ruined his own makeshift bandages. He took a hasty, nervous step away from her, holding up his fists.

“No, I am not here to fight you,” Starfire shook her head. “I am here to help. I will not hurt you.”

The not-robot froze for a long, horrible moment, considering her. Then he sat against the wall and tucked his hands behind his back, as if promising he wouldn’t hurt her, either. Starfire came closer and examined the injury.

“I will have to remove some of this material,” Starfire said. The pant leg was torn and bloody, and the armor was preventing her from seeing much more. The not-robot didn’t comment one way or another, so she removed the metal plate armor and used a thin beam of energy to slice away the torn fabric. The not-robot stayed _very_ still as she did so, clearly not entirely convinced she wasn’t going to hurt him.

There was a long, angry slice of red where Cyborg’s sonic cannon had grazed him. “You are lucky,” Starfire smiled. “If you were less agile, you would be missing the whole leg.”

The not-robot continued his silence as she gently wiped the wound with a damp cloth and bandaged him. “There you go!” Starfire said. “Does that feel better?”

The not-robot nodded carefully. “…Thank you,” he said, after a long hesitation. His voice was muffled behind the mask.

“Oh! You can talk?” Starfire tried not to sound as surprised as she was.

The not-robot nodded slowly.

“Um…” Starfire looked up at the window for help. Cyborg just shrugged. “Um, my name is Starfire! It is nice to meet you,” she said.

“I’m Apprentice,” the not-robot said. He took off the faceplate mask, revealing a secondary domino mask beneath it. He looked about 15 years old. His hair was black and spiky, but a little misshapen after being under the helmet for so long.

“It is…nice to meet you,” Starfire said again, awkwardly. She looked back up at the window, where the other Titans were kind of flailing around unhelpfully.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?” Apprentice asked dryly.

“What? Of course not,” Starfire said, confused. “We—”

“Don’t talk to me,” Apprentice said. He pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest, with only a slight wince of pain as he did so.

“We can help you,” Starfire said. “Are you inured anywhere else?”

“You don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” Apprentice said, glaring at her from behind his knees.

“Perhaps I could—” she reached towards him and he _visibly_ flinched away from her. She looked back up at the window once more. The Titans had disappeared. She squinted, trying to confirm this, when the door opened again and Cyborg came into the room, leaving Beast Boy and Raven outside. The Apprentice turned back into a ball of rage and energy until the door sealed shut, trapping him once more.

“My dude, we caught you, fair and square,” Cybrog crossed his arms. “You’re not getting out of here.”

“So I’m supposed to stop trying to escape?” Apprentice spat angrily.

“I’m Cyborg,” Cyborg said.

“I know who you are,” Apprentice glared. “I know who _all_ of you are. The Teen Titans…” he scoffed and shook his head. “You’ll never stop Slade. No one can.”

“So are you a showoff, or do you have a broken arm?” Cyborg said.

“What?” Apprentice went white.

“You do all your fancy cartwheels, but you haven’t been putting weight on your right arm,” Cyborg said. “You keep it held close to your chest as much as you can. You’re doing it right now.”

Apprentice hastily dropped his arm and held it behind his back.

“Did we do that?” Cyborg said, a little softer. “I’m sorry. I thought you were a robot, and, you know…”

“Robots don’t stop until you break them,” Apprentice sighed. “Yeah…I know. But it’s fine, and anyway, you didn’t do it.”

“Wait, you _came_ to the secure weapons facility with a broken arm? Why?!?!” Cyborg gestured angrily.

Apprentice just glared back at him in silence.

“We can hook you up with a cast,” Cyborg offered.

“I can’t fight in a cast,” Apprentice said.

“You can’t fight like this, either!” Cyborg gestured again. “What is your problem?!?”

“Cyborg,” Starfire said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “perhaps we should try a different approach.”

“I won’t talk,” Apprentice interrupted quickly. “I may not be a robot, but I won’t—I mean, I…I won’t…you can’t—”

“Woah, woah, slow down. We’re just trying to help you,” Cyborg said.

“No, you’re trying to soften me up so I give away Slade’s secrets,” Apprentice said. “I won’t do it. So you might as well kill me now, because I won’t talk, no matter _what_ you do to me.”

“No one’s going to kill anyone,” Cyborg started to say, but the door opened again as Raven and Beast Boy entered with the x-ray machine, and Apprentice launched himself at the Titans with complete disregard for life and limb.

“Titans, careful!” Cyborg said. “Beast Boy, don’t—”

“I can take care of my _self,”_ Apprentice wrenched his broken arm away from Beast Boy and ran for the door, which Raven sealed with her magic just before he got there. Apprentice beat his fist on the door, just once, and leaned against it heavily.

They were finally about to coax the dejected Apprentice into the x-ray machine. “Dude, you’re _covered_ in broken bone scars,” Cyborg frowned as he looked at the readings. “Half your ribcage is messed up.”

Apprentice just grit his teeth in response, staring pointedly up at the ceiling.

“Slade sure sends you on a lot of missions, doesn’t he?” Beast Boy shrugged.

Apprentice refused to answer, he just kept glaring at the ceiling like it was personally responsible for his failures.

“I’m not sensing any kind of mind control,” Raven said, touching her temple as she felt around with her magic.

Apprentice snorted at that, laughing a very teenager-y laugh. The hollow sound echoed in the secure room. It made the Titans shiver. Apprentice wasn’t some evil adult villain, he was the same age as them. He might as well have been laughing at one of Beast Boy’s jokes, he sounded so _normal._

“And I’m not detecting any kind of mechanical control, either,” Cyborg continued.

“Maybe I just work for Slade, okay?” Apprentice sighed. “Maybe, just like you all chose to be ‘heroes,’ _I_ chose to work for Slade.”

“How did _that_ happen?” Beast Boy scoffed.

Apprentice clammed up again.

“Wait, I’m picking up something,” Cyborg frowned. “A signal of some kind, originating outside the Tower. We—”

Apprentice rolled out of the examination bed, took a small device from his ear, and smashed it onto the ground with one heavily armored boot. He didn’t stop until the device was completely destroyed.

“—and, the signal’s gone,” Cyborg sighed, snapping the plate on his arm closed again. “Let me guess, that was so Slade could communicate with you?”

“I don’t have to talk to you,” Apprentice raised his fists.

“Let’s end this,” Raven frowned. She drew herself up to full height and stood in front of Apprentice, who glared up at her as he held onto his fighting stance. “Apprentice, was it?” Raven raised an eyebrow.

Apprentice just glared up at her and clenched his fists a little more tightly.

“Raven, you do not have to do this,” Starfire said quietly.

“If anyone has a better plan for figuring out what Slade wants before he blows up the whole city, I’m listening,” Raven said.

“Do it,” Cyborg nodded.

“Whatever it is, I won’t let you,” Apprentice said desperately, backing up against the wall. “I won’t talk. It won’t work. Don’t—what are you doing?”

“Best Boy, can you hold him?” Raven asked.

Beast Boy turned into a gorilla and grabbed Apprentice in a hug, holding him still.

“Don’t! Stop! Let me go!” Apprentice struggled in the tight grip.

“Ow! He bit me,” Beast Boy grumbled.

“Azarath metrion zinthos,” Raven breathed, and she closed her eyes as she drifted into Apprentice’s mind.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing in a circus tent. Everything was tinged brownish-grey, more with Apprentice’s emotion than with age. Raven looked around. It was a strange, creepy place. There was a tightrope, but the netting below it had been replaced with a pile of crushing gears. There were gears everywhere, Raven realized—they lined the floors of the animal cages, they made up platforms and audience seating…

It was deathly quiet, except for a repeated _shing…thunk_ sound. “Hello?” Raven called. “Apprentice? Anyone there?”

The s _hing…thunk_ sound stopped for a moment, then it picked back up again. Raven followed it around a corner, to where a boy in a blue uniform sat on one of the giant gears. He had spiky black hair. Raven watched him draw a small, thin knife from one of his pockets— _shing—_ and throw it across the room, where it landed in a wooden target with deadly accuracy— _thunk._

“Apprentice?” Raven asked.

“Huh?” the boy looked up at her and smiled. “Are you looking for someone?”

“Are you Apprentice?” Raven asked.

“My name’s Dick,” the boy shook his head. He jumped down from the gear and did a lazy backflip towards her. “Who’re you?”

“I’m Raven,” Raven said. “What is this place?”

“You don’t know?” Dick’s smile dropped. He gave her a sad look. “You should probably go, then. You don’t belong here.”

“I can’t go until I find Apprentice,” Raven said. “I need to talk to him.”

“I can show you around, I guess,” Dick shrugged. He led her through the circus, pointing out the attractions as they went. If he noticed the creepy stillness, the emptiness of the circus, the dark energy flowing around them, he didn’t say anything, and it didn’t seem to dampen his smile.

“This is where I grew up,” Dick was saying. “I used to do an act with my parents, before.”

“Before what?” Raven asked.

“Just before,” Dick said, smile never dropping. Now it looked more like a facade, though. Like an act. Like he was performing for her benefit. “Anyway, after it, Master found me. He’s been training me. That’s what I was doing when you found me.”

“Training?” Raven asked.

“Yeah,” Dick said, and he moved quickly then, the way Apprentice had. Knives appeared in his hands like magic, and he threw them at her. She raised both arms to shield herself, but they whizzed harmlessly past her. She turned, and saw Dick had made a perfect outline of her in knives behind her on a wall.

“Can we have some applause for the audience volunteer?” Dick beamed and raised his hands wide, turning to face an invisible audience like he’d performed an excellent trick. Then a shadow slammed into him from the side, hitting him in the chest and knocking him to the floor. “Ouch,” Dick winced from where he’d landed in a pile of rubble.

“You know the rules,” Apprentice growled.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Dick hung his head.

“Get up,” Apprentice held out his hand and helped Dick to his feet. “Sorry doesn’t matter.”

“I know,” Dick said, accepting the help and standing up.

“Apprentice,” Raven said. “Why are you working for Slade?”

“I already said, I don’t have to talk to you,” Apprentice growled. “What makes you think I’d be more willing in _here?”_

“Tell me what he’s planning, and I’ll get out,” Raven said.

Apprentice crossed his arms. “It’s _my_ mind. You’ll get out anyway.”

Dick pulled a short stick from a pocket, which extended into a long bow staff. “Sorry,” Dick smiled apologetically at Raven. Then he leapt at her with the staff.

Dick stabbed and jabbed at her again and again. It took all of her concentration to fend off his attacks, even though as far as she could tell, he didn’t even have powers. Dick somersaulted away from her and grabbed a chair and a whip. “The lions have _nothing_ on you,” Dick grinned. Raven flew up into the air, out of his range.

“Now that’s what I call high-flying!” Dick said. He dropped the props and clambered up one of the tightrope poles like a monkey. “But can you do this?” He swung down at her, and kicked one of his shoes to reveal a knife coming out of one of the toes. Raven dodged it and used her magic to detach the ropes holding up the bar. Dick fell, and Apprentice leapt into the air to catch him before he hit the gears below.

“Look, I don’t know what Slade’s planning. He doesn’t tell me that stuff. Will you just get out of here?” Apprentice set Dick down and glared up at Raven.

“No. Why are you working for him?” Raven asked.

“There was nobody else after,” Dick said.

“Shut up,” Apprentice said.

“Slade said he could be like a father to me,” Dick said.

“I said shut _up,”_ Apprentice growled at him.

“He protected me,” Dick said, looking up at Raven.

“He’s going to hurt a lot of people,” Raven said. “That’s why my friends and I need to stop him.”

“This is why we’re not talking to you!” Apprentice said. “You’re just going to stop _me_ too, like you stopped all those robots.”

“No…the Titans don’t kill people,” Raven said.

“Oh, sure you don’t, you just invade minds and try to poison me against Slade,” Apprentice rolled his eyes. “Much nicer.”

“Master could hurt a lot of people, though,” Dick said quietly. “He cares about you, and he still hurts you. Imagine what he could do to people he _didn’t_ care about.”

“You _know_ that was for training!” Apprentice rounded on Dick angrily. “Once I’m good enough at fighting, he won’t be _able_ to hurt me anymore. That’s the whole point.”

“Slade can’t hurt you while you’re with the Titans,” Raven said.

“Wanna bet?” Apprentice scowled.

“If that’s why you’re working for him, because you’re scared of him—”

“I’m not scared,” Dick said, at the same time Apprentice said “Of course I’m scared.” They looked at each other, then both looked up at Raven.

“Keep talking,” Dick said.

“Shut _up,”_ Apprentice said.

Raven made a solid attempt. “You don’t have to do what Slade says anymore. You’re safe from him here, we can—”

“We’re not _listening!”_ Apprentice roared. He grabbed Dick by the shoulders and threw him into the gears, then leapt down after him. “This is what happens to us because of _you!_ You make us _weak!”_ Apprentice pummeled Dick with punch after punch, not giving him time to get up.

“Stop it!” Raven swooped down and tried to pull them apart.

“ _You’re_ the one who’s weak!” Dick got a grip on Apprentice and pushed him into the pile of gears. As they fought, they began sinking into it, like quicksand.

“I’m not the one who says ‘thank you’ to my _captors,”_ Apprentice pulled Dick’s hair.

“I hate you!” Dick jabbed an elbow into Apprentice’s side.

“I hate _you!”_ Apprentice got the upper hand and put it around Dick’s throat, squeezing, seeming not even to notice as they sunk deeper between the gears.

“Let him _go!”_ Raven yelled, trying to get a grip on them with her magic, but they slid out of her grasp. She tried to grab Apprentice’s shoulders, but his head turned around backwards and he grabbed her with both hands, pulling her down into the gears. She struggled to pull away, but more hands appeared, grabbing her, pulling her down into the darkness and the crushing weight—

“Get _out!”_ Apprentice yelled, and Raven opened her eyes. She was back in the secure room with the Titans and Apprentice, still being restrained by Beast Boy.

“Slade can’t hurt you in here,” Raven said. “He can’t even hear you.” She gestured at the broken communications device where Apprentice had crushed it on the floor. “Why are you so desperate to get back to him?”

“He’s all I have,” Apprentice said, giving her a pleading look behind the domino mask. “Why won’t you let me go?”

“He’s not training you for anything, he’s just using you as a punching bag,” Raven said. “At best, you’re a human shield.”

“I’m not listening to you!” Apprentice screamed and slammed his head backwards into Beast Boy’s forehead.

“Ow!” Beast Boy couldn’t keep hold of him, and Apprentice dropped to the floor. He lunged at the door, trying to figure out how to open it.

“You’ll never get out,” Cyborg said. “That door is reinforced with the best security I know how to make. You’d have to be some kind of genius to hack out of—”

The door opened and Apprentice bolted down the hall like a scared rabbit.

“Get him!” Cyborg said.

“What happened to ‘he’ll never get out?” Raven raised an eyebrow.

“We can update the security _after_ we catch him!” Cyborg groaned.

Apprentice was learning his way around their powers. He dodged starbolts, anticipated Beast Boy’s animal changes, and sealed himself in their living room, jamming the door mechanism to buy himself some time.

He had to shield his eyes against how bright it was. The room was basically all windows. He went to their massive communications screen and controls, trying to open a line to Slade.

“Slade, it’s me,” Apprentice said. “I need help. The Titans got me, but I can escape, I know it. I need—”

“Whatever you need, you must hope the Titans will provide it,” Slade’s face appeared on the screen, larger than life and imposing as hell. “You are no longer welcome, my old apprentice.”

“What? But Slade, I did everything just as you said. I didn’t tell them anything. I’ve even still got the chip!” Apprentice took it out of his pocket and held it up.

“You’ve been with the Titans for multiple hours now. That is more than enough time for you to have been compromised,” Slade said. “We had a good run, but I’m afraid I can no longer trust you.”

“Master, you can trust me,” Apprentice said, almost in tears. “Please, I—”

“If I see you again, I will kill you, Dick,” Slade said. “Goodbye.”

“No,” Apprentice fell to his knees as the computer screen turned off. “Wait, don’t…” But it was too late. Slade was gone, and he didn’t want Apprentice back, even if he _could_ finish escaping from the Tower. Which didn’t seem likely, as the Titans were already busting down the door to the living room.

Apprentice stared down at the chip. If he’d just refused the mission to go after it, the pain from Slade’s punishment would already have gone away by now. He clutched it close to his chest. Surely, he could still deliver it. Even if Slade didn’t want _him,_ he’d want the chip, right?

“Drop it,” Cyborg said, pointing the sonic cannon at him. It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order. There would be no more orders from Slade anymore. Apprentice dropped the chip and stared down at it. In a matter of hours, Apprentice had become less valuable to Slade than this piece of computer technology. Apprentice was envious. He wanted to smash it into a million pieces.

“Hands in the air,” Cyborg said.

Apprentice obeyed. “This is _your_ fault,” he said quietly, staring at Raven. “If you hadn’t captured me—”

“Then Slade would be one step closer to taking over the city,” Raven said.

“Guys, I think we really took out Slade’s second in command!” Beast Boy beamed. “Titans rule!”

“So,” Apprentice sighed heavily, hands still raised. “What are you going to do with me now?” Unfortunately, it was seeming increasingly unlikely that they were going to kill him.

“Um…” Beast Boy looked at Cyborg.

“That’s…a good question,” Cyborg said.

Apprentice just sat there, motionless, keeping his hands raised, staring down at the chip. Apparently, he had all the time in the world to wait for their answer. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go.


	2. Chapter 2

“Uh…what now?” Beast Boy looked at Cyborg.

“I guess we…take him to jail?” Cyborg said.

“Great idea, Cy,” Raven rolled her eyes. “If we wanted to _murder_ him.”

Apprentice didn’t even flinch at the suggestion, he just kept staring at the computer chip with his hands still in the air.

“What do you mean?” Cyborg asked.

“You heard Slade,” Raven gestured at the communications screen. “He wants Apprentice dead, same as he wants us. If we hand Apprentice to the police, we’re as good as killing him.”

“We cannot do that,” Starfire frowned. “It is our fault he is…I cannot think of an appropriate human expression.”

“He’s a baby bird, and we touched him, and now the momma bird won’t let him back in the nest,” Beast Boy put his hands on his hips.

“Not a _great_ metaphor, Beast Boy,” Raven winced.

“So…what are our options?” Cyborg asked. They looked over at Apprentice, who was still motionless, kneeling on the floor with his hands up. The Titans looked at each other, and huddled up.

“We could hold him prisoner,” Starfire said. “On Tamaran, he would consider it quite an honor. Among my people, it is quite common that—”

“We could let him go, tell him never to set foot in the city again?” Beast Boy suggested.

“We could give him a room,” Raven said.

“And let him destroy the place?” Cyborg winced. “We only just cleaned up after the _last_ villain attack, and you want to invite one to _live_ with us?”

They looked at Apprentice, still motionless, still in the same pose.

“Hey, uh…” Beast Boy cautiously walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you, um, you know, gonna try to destroy this place?”

“What’s the point,” Apprentice sighed heavily. “Slade wouldn’t take me back if I did.”

Beast Boy returned to the huddle. “Hey, we _broke_ Slade’s second in command, guys.”

“So what do we do with him?” Cyborg bit his lip.

“We could give him a room,” Raven said, crossing her arms. “I’ve been inside his mind…I really don’t think he’s going to hurt us. I don’t think he wants to.”

“If we give him a room, we might as well make him a Titan,” Cyborg rolled his eyes.

“Why not?” Starfire said.

“Because he’s a _bad guy,”_ Cyborg gestured at Apprentice. “He works for Slade!”

“Not anymore, he does not,” Starfire pointed out.

Cyborg groaned. The Titans walked back over to Apprentice, who continued to stare listlessly at the floor in the same pose.

“So, Apprentice,” Cyborg said. “How would you like to live here?”

Apprentice dropped his hands. He stared up at Cyborg with a glazed kind of look in his eyes. “Are you keeping me prisoner?”

“No! Of course not! You can…go,” Cyborg said, realizing how dumb it was as it came out of his mouth. Technically, according to the law, they should have turned him over to the police, no matter _what_ the consequences would be.

“Where would I even go,” Apprentice all but collapsed, laying sideways on the floor.

“Hey, that’s what I do when Cy beats me at video games!” Beast Boy smiled.

“Yaaay, you caught me,” Apprentice said sarcastically, still on the floor. “I’m your prisoner. I still won’t tell you anything about Slade. And I won’t let you read my mind again.”

“Okay, get up,” Cyborg tried to lift him by the shoulders. Apprentice slid out of his hands like a wet noodle, back onto the floor.

“One more try,” Cyborg said, rubbing his hands together. He leaned down to grab Apprentice, when the crime alert went off. Cyborg jumped.

“Not _now,_ ” Beast Boy groaned. “All we _do_ is fight crime. I wanna take a nap.”

“You can nap later,” Cyborg said, pulling up the schematics on his arm panel. “Kitten is robbing a bank downtown.”

“Aww, man, it’s just Kitten? Do I _have_ to go,” Beast Boy whined. “Apprentice gets to nap!”

They looked down at Apprentice, who somehow _had_ managed to fall asleep. On the floor. In broad daylight. In direct sunlight.

“Should we move him?” Starfire asked.

“We’ll deal with him later,” Cyborg shook his head. “Raven, if he destroys the Tower while we’re gone, I’m blaming _you._ Titans, go!”

They ran out to the garage and the T-car, leaving a snoring Apprentice behind them.

Not too long later, the Titans returned to the Tower.

“Bros, I am gonna snooze so _hard,”_ Beast Boy said.

“You didn’t even do anything,” Raven said. “You literally turned into a sloth.”

“It was just _Kitten,_ ” Beast Boy yawned. “I woulda tried if it was a _real_ threat.” Cyborg stopped walking, causing Beast Boy to bump into him from behind, causing a pile-up in the hallway. “Hey! What’sa matter?” Beast Boy said.

“Apprentice is gone,” Cyborg said. “He’s gone!”

“He is gone?” Starfire looked up. They ran into the living room. Apprentice wasn’t on the floor where they’d left him.

“All right, I’ll check the security codes, Beast Boy, you check if he stole anything, Star, get to the roof,” Cyborg said. “We need to—”

“Dude, calm down, he’s right there,” Beast Boy pointed to where Apprentice sat on a stool next to the open freezer door, eating ice cream directly out of the carton.

Apprentice waved. “Hi. You’re back?”

“What are you doing?” Starfire asked.

“Was I not allowed to eat this?” Apprentice looked down at the carton in his hands.

“That was for dessert later this evening,” Starfire said.

“HyyyyYYYYAARGH!” Apprentice dropped the carton to the floor and leapt at her.

Starfire held him at bay with two starbolts. “Please stop attacking me!” she said. “I did not mean to cause offense!” Apprentice kicked a leg under her feet, knocking her over. “Cease this!” Starfire said, sitting upright.

Apprentice looked up. The rest of the Titans had powered up, and were staring him down. “Okay, but four on one isn’t fair. Starfire said it was _her_ food, not _all_ of yours,” Apprentice raised his fists and braced himself.

“Woah, woah, what do you think is happening right now?” Cyborg gestured in confusion.

“Um,” Apprentice looked down at Starfire. Then he looked at the other Titans. Then he stared down at his own fists, then he looked back at Starfire. “We’re…fighting? Over rations?”

“That’s…not really a thing we do,” Raven raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” Apprentice said, dropping his fists. “Um. Okay. Then how do you—never mind.” He jumped back over the counter and picked up the carton. He closed it, then put it back in the freezer and closed the door. He smiled sheepishly at the Titans. “Sorry?”

“It is not the worry,” Starfire flew back to her feet and dusted herself off. “You are hungry! Perhaps I could make you some Tamaranean Glorkk! It is most filling.”

“Okay,” Apprentice said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about…attacking you?” He was clearly making an effort to seem nonthreatening.

“It is none of the worries!” Starfire beamed. “Perhaps we can engage in such a ritual again? I am often confused by Earth table manners, but you behave just like a Tamaranean at Klorthog!”

“Um, thanks,” Apprentice said. He pulled up a stool and sat on it, drawing his legs up to his chest so he was in a light crouching pose. “How was your mission?”

“It was just Kitten,” Beast Boy stuck out his tongue. “Blegh. No big deal.”

“Hey, what happened to the chip thing?” Cyborg stood near the communication screen and scratched his head.

“What chip thing?” Raven asked.

“The one Apprentice stole,” Cyborg said. “It was right here.”

“I hid it,” Apprentice said.

“You gotta give it back,” Cyborg said, walking over.

“Why should I? I hid it. You’ll never find it,” Apprentice said, tensing up.

“Dude, you stole it. It’s not yours,” Cyborg said. “You have to give it back.”

“I forgot where I hid it,” Apprentice said, obviously lying. “It’s gone forever.”

“It’s not like you can give it back to Slade,” Cyborg said, holding out his hand. “Just tell me where it is so I can turn it in.”

“I forgot,” Apprentice said, backflipping off the stool and away from Cyborg. “I’m going to my room now.” He ran out of the living room, doing a little flip off the top stair into the hall.

“He picked a room?” Raven looked at Cyborg. They followed him down the hall to the security chamber where they’d first put him. Apprentice was curled up on the floor in one corner, already asleep again.

“We can get him a real room when he wakes up,” Cyborg shrugged. They went back to the living room.

Apprentice waited for them to leave. Back at Slade’s hideout, the robots wouldn’t leave, they would watch you until you fell asleep for real, but the Titans were only human (mostly) and gave up after just peeking at him. Still, he knew better than to sit up or stop the fakery. There were probably cameras. At least the Titans weren’t monitoring his vitals…at least, not that he knew of. Then it occurred to him that Slade still had the ability to monitor his vitals, but it wasn’t like he could just strip down and leave the uniform behind. But he couldn’t just ask for a new uniform, either.

He’d say one thing for life with Slade, which was that it was simple. Things were very different here in the Titans’ tower, and the rules were completely different too. That would be okay. If Apprentice was good at one thing, it was following the rules. That and acrobatics. Those two things, and knife-throwing. He didn’t have any knives on him right now, and Starfire had crushed the thermal blaster while they were capturing him. It felt horrible, being so naked and weaponless, but the overwhelming horribleness of “the Titans captured me and Slade wants me dead now” was kind of blocking everything else out.

Fuck the cameras. Apprentice couldn’t sit still any longer. He had to explore his new surroundings, get his bearings. He stood, and slipped out of the room, into the shadows of the hallway. He started looking around.

He could hear the Titans behind him in the living room, but he’d already explored _that_ room while they were gone. If he hadn’t slept so long, he would have had more time to look around, but he’d burned up a lot of energy on Slade’s mission, and he’d been tired. Now he’d have to make up for lost time.

The tower was _full_ of rooms, all of them with colors and windows and unless _stuff_ all over the place. It was full of _smells,_ the price of living with other humans instead of just the robots. Apprentice snuck down to the basement, where it was blessedly cool, dark, quiet, and less smelly—that is, it smelled like dust, not like sweat. This was maybe the only place in the tower that didn’t have massive _windows_ everywhere. Even the cell (his “room”) had a window, even though it just looked into another room instead of outside.

Apprentice curled up in an empty box. He would just rest for a few minutes. After all, it wasn’t like he was supposed to be anywhere else. There was no more training, no more missions, no more robot building, no more fighting Slade, no more anything. He lived _here_ now, assuming the Titans wouldn’t just kill him the second he stopped being useful. Which was already the case. He was doomed.

He pulled the computer chip out of his belt pocket. He looked at it, turned it back and forth. He didn’t even know what it was for. Slade wanted it, the Titans wanted it…he put it back in his pocket. It wasn’t a _great_ hiding spot, but he wanted to keep it close. It _was_ his, he stole it fair and square. It was worth something, unlike Apprentice. Holding onto it felt like holding onto the last few shreds of who he was supposed to be.

He closed the lid of the box and fell asleep.

He woke up to a bright light. He blinked awake. Someone had come into the basement and turned on the light and opened the box. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. He’d never have let himself sleep so soundly back at Slade’s hideout, and now he was going to pay the price. If it was a fight they wanted—

“Woah, woah, slow down,” Cyborg said. “Are you okay?”

“Yes?” Apprentice said. It came out half-stifled by a yawn, and he was going to dissolve into a puddle, he was so humiliated.

“What are you doing down here?” Starfire asked.

Apprentice poked his head out of the box. They were _all_ standing there, watching him. “Am I not supposed to be down here?” he asked.

They looked at each other. Maybe they had communicators in their brains, they were always giving each other meaningful looks that Apprentice didn’t understand.

“Don’t you want a real room? A bed?” Raven asked.

“No?” Apprentice shrank back down into the box. He liked it better in here than he’d liked it in the too-bright cell.

“Here, let’s go,” Cyborg said. He picked up the box, with Apprentice still inside.

“Hey, what are you—don’t—” Apprentice flailed around for a moment before he remembered his situation and kept himself still. Slade didn’t want him. He belonged to the Titans now, and he had to follow their rules. Wherever they were taking him, he was going to have to deal with it. He pressed up against the bottom of the box as much as he could, ready to spring out if he had to.

“Oh, you are adorable!” Starfire smiled down at him. “You look just like the lost kitten in a box!”

Apprentice glared up at her and wondered how hard it was to kill a Tamaranean. He wondered how hard it would be to kill _himself,_ or if the Titans would try to stop him. Cyborg carried the box up a flight of stairs and finally set it down.

“Here we are,” Cyborg said. “Your new room!”

This wasn’t the cell. Apprentice cautiously emerged from the box. It was a spare space, just a cot, a table, and not much else. It was a relief from the crowded clutter everywhere else in the tower. There were heavy curtains blocking another one of the giant windows, so it wasn’t too bright. Apprentice examined the door mechanism. Apparently, it was designed to be opened from the inside, and he could even lock it himself. Against his better judgment, he opened the curtains and looked out the window. There were no bars…he tapped against the glass a few times. It didn’t seem particularly reinforced.

“So…I’m supposed to stay here?” Apprentice asked.

“Do you not like it? It is quite empty,” Starfire frowned. “Perhaps we could find you some items with which to decorate.”

“It’s fine,” Apprentice said. He sat on the bed, which sank below him, throwing him off balance for a moment.

“So, uh, I guess we’ll leave you to it,” Cyborg said.

“Clothes,” Apprentice blurted. “I mean—” He was stuck for a moment, trying to figure out how to say it.

“Oh, right, you’re still in the Slade uniform,” Cyborg said.

Apprentice looked down at himself. The armor was mostly intact, though the fabric was torn to shreds what with trying to bind some of his injuries. “There’s monitoring equipment in this section,” he said, pointing at the orange and black vest. “Slade…” He’d hoped to have a better end for the sentence by the time he got here.

“Then we gotta get you out of that,” Cyborg frowned.

“Come on to my room,” Beast Boy said. “I got some stuff that might fit you.”

Apprentice stood, and followed. He had to fight down a wave of nausea after entering Beast Boy’s room, but he was a professional. No matter _how_ bad the tofu smell was.

“So, uh,” Beast Boy dug through a pile of clothes on the floor. “What’s your favorite color?”

Apprentice just stared at him.

“Okay, how do you like green?” Beast Boy threw a pair of pants at Apprentice. He picked them up. They also smelled like tofu.

“Maybe we could wash them first?” Apprentice said.

“Oh, right,” Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. “I’ve also got…here.” He threw a red shirt at Apprentice.

“I’m going to look like a Christmas elf,” Apprentice grumbled.

“Sorry. Maybe Raven’s got cooler clothes,” Beast Boy said. He walked around Apprentice, sizing him up. “Maybe you need a cape! A cape would look _great_ on you.”

“Is there somewhere I can wash these?” Apprentice held up the clothes.

“Sure, laundry room is down the hall,” Beast Boy said. “Lemme know if you need anything else, Apprentice!”

“Don’t call me—never mind,” Apprentice grumbled.

“Huh?” Beast Boy looked up.

“Nothing,” Apprentice sighed. He’d pick a new name eventually. He couldn’t go around calling himself “ex-Apprentice,” after all. He went down the hall to the laundry room. Somebody’s stuff was already in the dryer. A few of Raven’s cloaks, it looked like. He started his own laundry running and tried one of the cloaks on, just to see how it would look.

No, Beast Boy was wrong. A cape would _not_ look good on him. He waited for the wash cycle to finish, then he put the stuff in the dryer. Then he waited for the dryer to finish. Raven eventually came in to pick up her clothes. Apprentice did his best to be quiet and easy to ignore. It must have worked, because she did ignore him. She left, and the dryer finished. Apprentice took out the clothes and started to change into them. The pants were comfortable, despite being green, and he put his original boots back on over them. When he tried to take off the vest, he ran into some problems. The fastenings were sealed shut. After some closer examination, he determined he’d need a magnet to get it off. Slade’s hideout had been _full_ of magnets. The tower, unfortunately, was not. He rummaged through his belt until he found a dagger that looked about the right size. He pried at the fastenings with the knife, until he felt a mild electric shock. He stopped. The vest wanted to stay on. That was no problem, he just had to find a magnet. There were a few stuck to the fridge, he remembered. But the living room was probably full of people. He took a deep breath. He’d just go in, get the magnet, and get out.

He went down to the living room. The door opened, and Starfire burst through, starbolts ablaze. “Hy-HUH!” She dove at him.

Apprentice dropped the clothes and backflipped out of her range, then rolled to the side. He threw the dagger at her, and it crumbled into ash under the power of her starbolts. She fired a blast into the floor, just barely missing him as he dodged to the right. He grabbed the red shirt and threw it at her, the closest thing he had to a smoke screen. Then he jumped on her, trying to get his hands on her throat. He wouldn’t let her kill him. She’d have to—

“Most excellent!” Starfire beamed, sitting up as if his attacks hadn’t even fazed her. “You are quite the opponent!”

Apprentice dropped her and backed up a few steps. Slade used to say that all the time. It was a patronizing way of saying what he really meant, which was “you’ll never measure up, now I’m going to punish you.” Apprentice braced himself, putting his unbroken arm in front of him like a shield.

“Here you are!” Starfire handed him a bowl. “Tamaranean Glorkk, just as I said!”

“I thought you people don’t fight for rations,” Apprentice said, cautiously taking the bowl from her.

“The other Titans do not,” Starfire said sadly. “They said it is not an Earth custom.”

Apprentice took a tentative bite of the food. It wasn’t bad. It _was_ filling, like she’d said.

“My people are warriors,” Starfire said. “Even though you do not have powers, you are a warrior too!”

“I guess so,” Apprentice shrugged. He sat on the floor in the hallway and kept eating. Starfire sat across from him.

“You are not satisfied with the Beast Boy’s clothes?” Starfire asked, holding up the shirt he’d thrown at her.

Apprentice shook his head. “Can’t take off the vest. Need a magnet.”

“I shall fetch one!” At superhuman speed, Starfire flashed into the kitchen and returned with a magnet shaped like a frog. “Is this sufficient?”

Apprentice tried it on the vest fastenings. The first one clicked open, and so did the second, but the third carried a much stronger electric shock. Apprentice pulled on it as hard as he could, muscles tensing up involuntarily as the electricity pulsed through his chest. “Hrngh,” he groaned. He couldn’t get the broken arm at a good angle to get leverage.

“May I assist?” Starfire asked. Apprentice nodded as much as he could. She reached over, and crunched the last fastening in one hand. The vest deactivated and fell off, leaving a few burnt holes in his long sleeve shirt underneath.

“You’re stronger than the files said,” Apprentice said, staring at her. He took deep breaths, trying to regulate his heart rate again after the shocks.

“It is nothing. On my planet, everyone is this strong,” Starfire said. “Are you the all right?”

Apprentice slammed a metal boot on the vest a few times, listening to the electrodes inside crunch and fall apart. “Fine.”

“You do not look the fine,” Starfire said. “Perhaps you should accompany me to medical.”

“I said I’m _fine,_ ” Apprentice hissed. He stood up, carefully. His muscles still felt a little bit like jelly. He glared at Starfire until she left him alone, then sat back down in the hall and finished the Glorkk. It didn’t taste as good as the ice cream, but it beat whatever the robots used to make.

In the living room, Raven and Cyborg sat at the table together. “I don’t know,” Cyborg said. “He just…he’s weird. He gives me the newbie jeebies.”

Starfire came back into the living room and they looked up. Through the open door, they could see Apprentice sitting on the hallway floor, eating Glorkk like that was a perfectly normal place to be.

“He was just sitting in the laundry room, too,” Raven crossed her arms. “Slade’s been directing his ever move for I don’t even know _how_ long, he’s probably just…confused.”

“He looks like he’s waiting for something,” Cyborg huffed. “Like an excuse to take us _down._ ”

“He looks like he’s actually enjoying Starfire’s Tamaranean food,” Raven rolled her eyes. “Maybe that’s a superpower, but it’s not like it’s a threat.”

“If I go out in the hallway and he’s just sitting there—I do _not_ want him to be just sitting there!” Cyborg said, flustered.

“So give him something to do, I don’t care,” Raven shrugged.

“Something to do…” Cyborg rubbed his chin thoughtfully with one hand.


End file.
